Sunday, January 9, 2011

Once in a while comes along one of those tribute albums, which catches your ear. “Fly Away” is certainly one of those. It celebrates the songwriting art of one of the most talented musicians/writers/producers ever to appear on the music scene, David Foster. But while a lot of people think that Mr. Foster had everything to do with this album, the fact remains that the man behind this tribute is Tomi Malm, from Finland, who as an arranger and producer has reinvented a number of classics from Foster’s amazing songbook. Furthermore, Malm’s inventive and original covers are brought to life by a cast of superior musicians and singers, some of whom have collaborated with Foster in the past in one way or another. Mr. Foster himself collaborates on a few tracks playing piano. But the real beauty of this album is the fact that even for someone who doesn’t know who David Foster is or who these musicians are, it doesn’t matter. These are great songs and great performances and the appeal of these covers is undeniably attractive. To say that these renditions sound better than the originals by Earth, Wind & Fire, Peter Cetera, Boz Scaggs, Kenny Loggins, Peter Allen, Chaka Khan, James Ingram and Chicago would be sacrilege, but even if you are familiar with the originals you cannot help but to feel compelled to continue listening to this wonderful production and end up loving it. Mr. Malm has achieved a true tribute album, which sounds fresh, inventive and gives new meaning to “The Songs of David Foster”, or should we say David Foster, Maurice White, Bill LaBounty, Boz Scaggs, Kenny Loggings, Michael McDonald, Carole Bayer Sager, Peter Allen, Cynthia Weil, Richard Marx, Jeremy Lubbock, Jay Graydon, Robert Lamm, just to name a few. After all, none of the songs in this tribute (and throughout most of his career) were written by Foster alone but in collaboration with some of the best writers in the music business. Mr. Foster just has a star-like persona and is a better businessman. His all around talent as a writer, producer, musician and entrepreneur propels him into stardom. The album closes with an extraordinary contribution directly from Foster’s vaults, the unreleased song “Live Each Day”, which features a vocal performance by the late Warren Wiebe, which has never been heard before. Musicians are: Vocals by Bill Champlin, Bill LaBounty, Arnold McCuller, Frank Adahl, Jeff Pescetto, Robbie Dupree, Cecily Gardner, Ole Borud, Lisa Lovbrand, Bill Cantos and Warren Wiebe, Tomi Malm as producer, arranger on keyboards, bass and guitars, Jeremy Lubbock, Lenni-Kalle Taipale, Aidan Zammit on Rhodes, David Foster on piano, John Robinson and Jarmo Valmari on drums, Nathan East, Rick Chudacoff, Neil Stubenhaus, Alberto Hernandez and Abraham Laboriel on bass, Ramon Stagnaro on nylon guitar, Brandon Fields and Fabrizio Mandolini on sax, Paul Jackson Jr., Janne Lehikoinen, Peter Friestedt, Dan Warner, Michael Landau, Soren Reiff, Jay Graydon, Porty, Jyrki Manninen, Jaakko Pesola and Juan Carlos Jimenez on electric guitar, Michito Sanchez on percussion, Tollak Ollestad on harmonica, Frank Adahl, Bill Champlin, Lisa Lavie, Tomi Malm, Gabriel Raya, Rafa Hernandez, Eli Hernandez, Arnold McCuller, Bill Cantos, Joaquin Gonzalez, Jeff Pescetto, Bjarne Langhoff, Bjarne Langhoff, Aidan Zammit and Joe Pizzulo on background vocals, Horns arranged by Tomi Malm, Jan Glaesel and performed by the Danish All Star Horns, Jan Glaesel on flugelhorn solo, string arrangement by Tomi Malm and Jeremy Lubbock, strings conducted by Dan Bornemark and performed by the Värmland Opera Sinfonietta.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Norwegian pianist Ketil Bjørnstad always paints a serene Scandinavian landscape through his beautiful compositions, unique style matched by the distinctive performances of his long-time musician colleagues. This is felt throughout all his recordings, especially those under ECM Records, which are perfect examples of how some music can appeal to anybody regardless of the style. “Remembrance” is no exception. Tenor saxophonist Tore Brunborg reminds us of other great Scandinavian talents such as Jan Garbarek by adding palettes of melodies tinged with Scandinavian folklore while veteran drummer Jon Christensen remains always inventive as his usually ultra-sensitive drumming might seem like disorderly free drumming at will to the non-connoisseur just as it is a legendary performance to those familiar with his great style. This mixture makes “Remembrance” a reflective, introspective recording, well suited for those times when peace, relaxation, concern and a look at one's inner self are necessary. Recorded and mixed by Jan Erik Kongshaug.

Profile

Welcome!! Over the years my profound love for music has broadened my horizons as I've gathered a comprehensive collection consisting of all musical genres. This devotion has prompted me to share my favorite music with my friends and now with you as I believe good music can appeal to anyone. There is still a lack of re-releases on the market, and some new and old amazing music goes unnoticed and it's hard to trace. I have created this oasis to help you on your quest to find some of these amazing, rare, out-of-print, out-of-the-ordinary or simply interesting musical missing pieces by guiding you to places where you can either buy them or share them. I feel the need to provide my contribution to preserve, value and maintain alive some of these musical gems by spreading the word on this incredible music. I hope this contribution also helps to prompt the rightful owners of some of this out-of-print music to reissue it. This is my way of thanking all these amazing musicians for sharing their gift of music with us.

Copyright Issues

I will not post sharing links to albums that are commercially available as it not only infringes upon the rights of the rightful owners but as it also destroys the monetary chain that supports musicians, songwriters, producers and record companies who bring you this music in the first place. The music and reviews contained in this Blog are intended for educational, non-commercial, informative and promotional purposes. If you are aware that any of the albums posted on this Blog become commercially available or if any of these files infringe upon rights that you may hold, please notify me and I will remove the link immediately and replace it with a link to the stores that sell it.

Visitors Since 12/4/2009

Support This Blog:

You can help support this Blog by:- Donating Records- Sharing out-of-print CDs- Donating money

The music and reviews contained in this blog are intended for educational, non-commercial, informative and promotional purposes. If you are aware of any of these items being commercially available or if any of these files infringe upon rights that you may hold, please notify me immediately and i will remove the referenced items.